Ischico Velzel
Classical Pianist
Ischico Velzel is a young Dutch/Indian pianist that takes her audience on a journey with her fresh image on classical music. Ischico strongly connects with performing unique and adventurous piano repertoire and won the Lamond Prize. Ischico has found her distinctive voice by experimenting with the boundaries of classical music and other disciplines.
Music
Calender
2023
11 of and 12th of January
Soirée Dada
https://dadahaarlem.com/de-soiree/
18th of February
De Muziekfabriek
NPO Klassiek
8th-17th of March
Schiermonnikoog Festival
12th of March
Solo-recital
Cultuurcentrum Jan van Besouw, Goirle
8th of April
Premiére Pianokwintet 'Tragico' van componist Teun van der Steeg
De Wingerd, Doetinchem
14th of April
Tableaux Pianoduo Recital
Velp
16th of April
Tableaux Pianoduo recital
't Mosterdzaadje, Santpoort Noord
13th of May
Amsterdam Piano Sessions
NDSM treehouse
22nd of May
Recital and masterclasses
Revius Lyceum, Doorn
7th of July
Solo Recital
Sandford Church, Dublin
11th of September
Concert voor S.E.M.
Museum Voorlinden
29th of September 12:00
Solo recital
Waalse kerk, Breda
15th of October
Solo Concert
De Verzameling, Westervoort
5th of November
Solo Recital
Theaterhuis Amalia, Oegstgeest
15th of December
Recital with Cathal Killeen
Live at our Place, NDSM Treehouse
16th of December
Recital with Cathal Killeen (clarinet)
De Kapel, Hilversum
2024
14th of January
Solo Recital
't Mosterdzaadje
21st of January
Solo Recital
Theaterhuis Amalia, Oegstgeest
16-27 maart
Artist in Residence at Huis A. Kraak
Album development + concerts
7th of April
Solo Recital
Vrienden Nicolaaskerk, Wijhe
11th of April
Private concert
Nijmegen
14th of April
Presentation of residency concert
Huis A. Kraak, Laren
21st of April
Recital with Santiago Luruena
't Mosterdzaadje
12th of May
Amsterdam Piano Sessions
'Treehouse NDSM
https://allevents.in/mobile/amp-event.php?event_id=10000887573745967
16th of May
Solo recital
Opus Amsterdam, Westerdok
23rd of May
Solo Recital
St Ann's, Dublin
24th of May
Solo Recital
Sandford Parish, Dublin
3-7th of June
Album recordings with 7 Mountain Records
Westvestkerk
18th of June
With Florianne Remme
Recital for Grachtenfestival
Private recital
30th of June
Mini Summer Festival
Huis A. Kraak
27th of August
Grachtenfestival
Amsterdam
28th of September
Solo Recital
De Kapel, Hilversum
9th of December
Solo Recital
St. John's Kirk, Perth, Scotland
2025
22th of February
Recital with clarinetist Santiago Lurueña
't Mosterdzaadje
30th of May
Solo Recital
St. Andrew's Church, Ottawa, Canada
5th of October
Recital
Buitengewoon Klassiek, Theater de Bussel
Biography
Ischico Velzel is a young Dutch/Indian pianist who takes her audience on a journey with her fresh image of classical music. She is active as a solo pianist and chamber musician and has found her distinctive voice by experimenting with the boundaries of classical music. Her playing is described as 'effortlessly expressive' and 'technically extremely fluent'
Ischico strongly connects with performing unique and adventurous piano repertoire including her own compositions and improvisations. In 2021, she won first prize in the Lamond Prize, a competition for lesser-known piano works, with her performance of Medtner's Sonata-Skazka. She has also won prizes at the Princess Christina Competition and the Bender-Petrof Festival. Ischico actively explores the connection between classical music and other genres and disciplines. She has collaborated with visual artists and dancers and recently made her debut in the world of theatre.
Ischico has been invited to perform in prestigious concert halls at home and abroad including Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam, Musis Sacrum in Arnhem, Sloane Square in London and Casa Battló in Barcelona. She was featured in several national radio programs in The Netherlands and SBS in Australia. Most recently she performed at NPO Classical where she performed works of A. Babajanian and her own version of Mozart's Lacrimosa. She has participated in masterclasses by Dmitri Alexeev, Jacques Rouvier, Hortense Cartier-Bresson, Joanna Macgregor, Avedis Kouyoumdjian and Håkon Austbø.
In addition to performing solo, Ischico thoroughly enjoys playing chamber music in different settings. She frequently collaborates with many internationally praised musicians such as soprano Elizaveta Agrafenina, pianist Anna Michels and cellist Florianne Remme.
Ischico completed two master degrees at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona under the tutelage of renowned pianists Frank Peters, Albert Attenelle, Petras Geniušas and Fali Pavri. She is grateful for the aid of the VSBFonds, Het Heij Konijn Fonds and Ars Donandi who have supported her studies financially.
In 2019 Ischico ran a successful crowdfunding campaign to fund a part of her second master’s at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She currently plays on a Yamaha C5, generously supported by Stichting Eigen Muziekinstrument and Ars Donandi.
Ensembles
The Tableaux Pianoduo was founded in 2020 and consists of the young Scottish/Dutch pianist Anna Michels and Ischico Velzel.
The duo enjoys performing adventurous and exciting repertoire and frequently includes improvisation in their concerts.
Recent performances include the Piano Festival in Glasgow, The Pianoduo Festival in Amsterdam and a recital in de Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague.
Anna Michels enjoys a multi-faceted career as a soloist, chamber musician and lecturer. She has been awarded several international prizes for her musicianship and is a recipient of the Cross Trust.
''There was an excellent balance between the pianos, and the phrasing was so well crafted and had a natural elegance to it that was very appealing''
Santiago Lurueña and Ischico have a repertoire full of surprising and contrasting works from neo-classicist Poulenc to neo-romantic Castelnuovo-Tedesco.
Born in Salamanca in 1994, Santiago studied at the Badajoz Conservatory of Music and earned a Master’s Degree at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen. He's performed with prestigious orchestras, enjoys exploring jazz and Klezmer music, and is actively engaged in chamber music with the Phasma Trio and Ischico.
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Duo Echo
Soprano Elizaveta Agrafenina and pianist Ischico Velzel met in Amsterdam. They soon discovered their unique musical taste connected them and so Duo Echo was formed.
The duo focuses on unique repertoire from the Netherlands, Spain and Russia.
Works by female composers, e.a. H. Bosmans, A. de Larrocha and E. Kuypers, hold a significant place in their programs.
Elizaveta is a part of the Young Artist Program at Bergen National Opera in Norway and has since 2017 sung in several productions, such as Werther by Massenet and La Clemenza di Tito by Mozart.
Contact
+31 6 23213044